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Mugabe marks independence day with new threats

Reuters

Wed Apr 18,
2007 10:03AM EDT

By Cris ChinakaHARARE (Reuters) - President
Robert Mugabe marked independence day on Wednesday with new threats against
opposition forces he accuses of trying to topple his government on behalf of
Zimbabwe's former colonial master, Britain.

Addressing a rally to
mark Zimbabwe's 27th independence anniversary, Mugabe said he would never
cede power to opposition figures he has branded stooges of Western powers
bent on undermining his black nationalist government.

"As government, our
message remains clear that we will never hesitate to deal firmly with those
elements who are bent on fomenting anarchy," he told some 30,000 cheering
supporters at a Harare stadium.

A mounting economic and political crisis
left many Zimbabweans in no mood for celebration on Wednesday, with many
saying the country was in its worst shape ever.But Mugabe -- who denies
he is holding onto power through violence and vote rigging -- said people
had reason celebrate "successive victories over British-sponsored negative
forces, however organized."

Zimbabwe had resisted attempts to reverse the
government's nationalist land and black empowerment policies through the
opposition's British-sponsored "regime change agenda", he
said.

Critics including major Western countries accuse Mugabe of using
his nationalist credentials as a smokescreen to cover the country's slide
into dictatorship.

Mugabe said he had no problem with a "legal,
home-grown, peaceful and constructive political opposition," but said chief
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai -- who says he was cheated of victory in
presidential polls in 2002 -- was a "pathetic puppet" of Britain and the
United States.

"I swear by our forefathers, I will never concede power to
such people," he said.

CRACKDOWN

Mugabe's government last
month launched a brutal crackdown on Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), accusing it of trying to overthrow it through a "terrorist
campaign" of petrol bombings. The opposition denies the charge.

South
Africa's President Thabo Mbeki has been appointed by the regional Southern
African Development Community (SADC) to broker talks between Mugabe and his
opponents, but few are holding out hope of any immediate progress.Instead,
analysts expect the government to increase pressure ahead of 2008 elections,
stepping up a campaign of beatings and intimidation of opposition figures
which began last month.

Mugabe has been endorsed by ZANU-PF to run again
for president in the elections, and appeared to be using Wednesday's rally
as a display of popular power.

The 83-year-old leader basked in the
cheers of supporters of his ruling ZANU-PF party as an airforce fly-by and
military marches underscoring the might of his government.

"Our
birthright, Our Sovereignty" read one placard waved at the rally, while
others denounced Mugabe's Western critics and pledged to unswerving loyalty
to the long-serving leader.

Critics accuse Mugabe, Zimbabwe's sole
ruler since independence from Britain in 1980, of plunging the southern
African state into crisis through policies such as the seizure of
white-owned farms to resettle blacks.

But Mugabe says the disaster --
which has left Zimbabwe with the world's highest inflation and a rapidly
shrinking economy

-- is a result of economic sanctions imposed by the
West.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said that while Zimbabweans valued the
role of liberation war fighters, the hardships and lack of rights under
Mugabe meant they could not celebrate."Today is a day of reflection too
on what has gone wrong and what needs to be done to put things right," he
said.

Shops closed, people forced to attend Mugabe's Independence Day
address

By Tererai Karimakwenda18 April, 2007

Shops were
forced to close and street vendors and other people were herded toward
Rufaro Stadium in Harare by police as they prepared for Robert Mugabe's
Independence Day address on Wednesday. But with the ongoing arrests and
torture of opposition officials and supporters, and ever increasing
inflation rates, Zimbabweans did not have much to celebrate this year.
According to our correspondent Simon Muchemwa, Mugabe's speech contained
nothing more than the usual negative venom against the British and western
powers. He also attacked opposition parties, accusing them of creating
anarchy and warning they would be dealt with firmly if they disobey the law.
Then he thanked the police for their role in containing what he called
"misguided elements."

Muchemwa said the ageing ZANU-PF leader told
the British government to leave Zimbabwe alone, saying their authority over
the country ended back in 1980 when Prince Charles lowered the British flag.
The only foreign dignitaries who attended the celebrations were Zambia's
deputy Prime Minister Rupiya Banda and three Zambian ministers. Muchemwa
believes this signals Mugabe's increasing isolation within the
region.

Mugabe also targeted MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai, who was
badly injured when he was tortured by police while in custody last month. He
referred to Tsvangirai as a puppet of the West and accused the party of
being violent. He did not mention that dozens of opposition officials have
been arrested and tortured since then and that abductions are still going on
as we celebrate Independence. At least 25 people are still in custody being
denied medical assistance for injuries inflicted during their torture by the
authorities. Mugabe also said opposition parties had all the freedom to
operate as long as they stayed within the legal framework prescribed by the
law. But he did not speak of the current ban on political rallies and
religious gatherings.

A war veteran leader who fought in the
liberation war slammed Mugabe's speech, saying he had nothing to offer and
was using diversions because he has no solutions to the countrys deepening
crisis. Max Mkandla of the Zimbabwe Liberators' Voice said the freedom
Zimbabweans fought for does not exist when people cannot gather or speak
freely and choose their own government. He described Mugabe as a "confused
leader who is no longer popular with other nations and at
home."

Mkandla said a good leader does not praise brutality by the police
against innocent unarmed citizens. He pointed to the days when army planes
and parachutes flew by during Independence celebrations, saying they no
longer do so because Mugabe is no longer popular within his own army."We
need new ideas and we need to build bridges with other nations," said the
war vet leader.

Mugabe blames...... Brits

Associated Press

Apr 18, 2007

Mugabe Says Brits Failed to Topple
Him

By ANGUS SHAWAssociated Press
Writer

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) --
President Robert Mugabe declared Wednesday that he had overcome
British-backed efforts to topple him, leading muted independence
celebrations for a country beset by recent political violence and a
plummeting economy.

Looking robust, the 83-year-old Zimbabwean leader
described the opposition Movement for Democratic Change as "the shameless
local puppets" in a conspiracy by Britain, the former colonial ruler, to
remove him from power.

"We have observed of late how this conspiracy has
attempted to transform into a militant criminal strain ... to create a state
of anarchy and an orgy of violence. We will never hesitate to deal firmly
with these elements," said Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since its
independence from Britain in 1980.

He acknowledged that worsening
economic hardships were "stirring disquiet" across the nation and said
security forces were ready to defend national and economic interests from
what he called "the strategy of saboteurs" in the recent unrest.

The
government has used security forces to violently disrupt demonstrations,
including a prayer meeting last month in which dozens were assaulted,
including main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The government called
the meeting a political protest banned under sweeping security
laws.

In the capital Harare, Joram Bande, unemployed for two years, said
he had no desire to listen to Mugabe on Wednesday or go to parades and
celebrations at the soccer stadium where the British flag was lowered on
April 18, 1980.

"What independence? Independence of hunger?" he said,
likening the anniversary to any other day as he scavenged for garbage to
sell. "We are crying."

For the first time, no businesses or
government offices were festooned with independence streamers and flags,
reflecting the country's shortages of cash and the highest estimated
inflation in the world.

The Zimbabwean opposition and critics abroad
accuse Mugabe of economic mismanagement and political oppression. On
Wednesday, Mugabe blamed unbridled greed in some quarters for massive price
increases that have put many basic commodities out of the reach of ordinary
Zimbabweans.

Backing by other leaders in southern Africa who have opted
for quiet diplomacy over confrontation appears to have given Mugabe room to
stave off trouble within his ruling party and demands for him to step
down.

The opposition has denied government allegations of a terror
campaign, claiming eight bombings in the country since early March were
stage-managed by state security agents, possibly using disgruntled
opposition youths.

Mugabe had been credited with rapidly expanding
colonial era health and education services soon after independence, making
Zimbabwe the envy of the region, but the embattled nation now faces acute
shortages of food, gasoline and most basic goods.

Zimbabwe also has
the world's lowest life expectancy for women at 34, worsened by an official
HIV/AIDS infection rate of 22 percent of adults in the 12 million
population. At least 3,000 people die from AIDS and related illnesses each
week.

Mugabe blames......greed

BBC

18 April 2007, 11:33 GMT 12:33 UK

Mugabe
blames greed for collapseZimbabwe's leader has blamed "unbridled
greed" in the business sector and "saboteurs" for the country's economic
woes during independence celebrations.President Robert Mugabe, who
has been heavily criticised for his brutal crackdown of the opposition, also
defended his government's stance.

"Misguided opposition elements
[have tried] to create a state of anarchy through an orgy of violence," he
said.

Zimbabwe has the world's highest annual rate of inflation and
80% unemployment.

'No justification'

"The economy
has continued to be buffeted by seemingly unending waves of price hikes,
largely prompted by both unbridled greed amongst some of our business
persons and by the strategy of our saboteurs," the 83-year-old president
told a packed stadium in the capital, Harare.

"This pace of
increases in prices of basic commodities have largely been without
justification."

Economists estimate that the country's inflation
rate now tops 2,000% and only one person in five is in full-time
work.

Mr Mugabe was giving his address at the same stadium where
Zimbabwe's independence celebrations were held in 1980.

He
reminded his audience of the day 27 years ago when British colonial rule
ended with the lowering of the flag by Prince Charles.

"Pulling
down colonialism, British colonialism, which had settled here, oppressed us
for nearly a century," he said.

He also repeated accusations that
some members of the opposition were seeking anarchy.

"We will
never hesitate to deal firmly with those elements who are bent on fomenting
anarchy and criminal activities," he said.

Last month, a prayer
meeting in the capital, Harare, attended by opposition leaders and activists
was broken up by police, leaving two people dead.

Scores of
activists, including Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan
Tsvangirai, were arrested and assaulted in police custody.

Mugabe blames......opposition

Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, has accused the opposition
Movemement for Democratic Change of trying to create anarchy as Zimbabwe
marks its 27th anniversary of independence.

Mugabe remained silent on
President Thabo Mbeki's mediation role in the country, but criticised the
opposition for being stooges in the so-called Western agenda for regime
change in Zimbabwe.

Twenty-seven years ago Mugabe took the oath of office
as the first prime minister of an independent Zimbabwe. Today as president
he was in a defiant mood, telling his opponents any regime change agenda
will not work. Turning to the economy, he said companies and individuals who
are increasing prices for selfish reasons are to blame for the suffering of
Zimbabweans. However, the business community defended the price
increases.

There was also concern about Zimbabwe's brain drain. An
estimated four million Zimbabweans are currently in the diaspora, most of
them in South Africa and Botswana. Other professionals have settled in the
UK, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Mugabe blames...... West

Mugabe blasts West

Published: April 18, 2007 at 11:52
AM

HARARE, Zimbabwe April 18 (UPI) -- Western powers are to blame for
Zimbabwe's economic woes, according to the country's ruler.In
celebrating the African nation's 27th independence anniversary Wednesday,
President Robert Mugabe said that foreign governments remain set on
destroying Zimbabwe as its economy continues on a downward spiral. Mugabe
has, however, effectively shut down any political opposition towards his
regime and most recently cracked down on the Movement for Democratic Change,
arresting and torturing its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mugabe accused
Tsvangirai of being a "pathetic puppet" of the United States and Britain,
and added that "as government, our message remains clear that we will never
hesitate to deal firmly with those elements who are bent on fomenting
anarchy."

Mugabe has remained in power as its sole ruler since the
country gained independence in 1980.

Mugabe blames...... Businesses

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday accused the
country's business community of stoking inflation through "unnecessary"
price hikes, South African radio reported.

The 83-year-old leader was
speaking at Harare's Rufaro stadium during Independence Day celebrations to
mark Zimbabwe independence from Britain 27 years ago - that was attended by
thousands of people.

Mugabe accused businesses of having a hidden agenda
and of profiteering, SAfm reported.

With inflation running at over
1,700 per cent, staples such as cooking oil and soap have become prized
items in Zimbabwe.

Businesses say that the rising cost of inputs is
forcing them to implement the vertiginous price hikes.

Mugabe has
blamed the country's economic woes, also characterized by widespread
poverty, unemployment and mass emigration, on sanctions imposed by the
European Union and the United States.

The sanctions include a travel ban
and an asset freeze on Mugabe and other officials from his ZANU-PF
government.

Dressed in a a green and gold presidential sash, the
authoritarian leader also took potshots at former imperial power Britain and
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), accusing them of
collaborating against him.

No prominent opposition leaders were in
attendance after MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai had warned the party's
supporters against attending the "ZANU-ized" celebrations on safety
grounds.

The MDC claims the authorities have detained around 600 of its
supporters during a month-long crackdown on the opposition, of which many
have been beaten and tortured in detention.

MDC stopped from attending Independence celebrations in Mutare

The officer-in-charge of Mutare central
police station, Inspector Florence Marume, on Wednesday personally
instructed her officers to block an MDC delegation from entering Sakubva
stadium for the Independence celebrations.

The MDC delegation, which
included provincial spokesman Pishai Muchauraya, was travelling in a party
vehicle when they were stopped at the gate and ordered to turn back. Whilst
this was going on, the group saw delegates from Zanu (PF) with party
vehicles, being motioned to enter the stadium.

'At first we resisted, but
then the commotion attracted the attention of soldiers nearby who threatened
to manhandle us. The soldiers were shouting 'this never happens in Bindura
where we come from' which suggested to us that they were militias dressed in
army uniforms. They were also ready to pounce on us so we retreated,'
Muchauraya said.

The group was eventually escorted from the stadium under
police guard and told not to come back. However Muchauraya said they didn't
miss anything inside except the free food and drinks that was on
offer.

'This was supposed to be a national event but we are not surprised
because Zanu (PF) has nationalised everything in Zimbabwe, including Easter
holidays. The majority of people who attended were bussed in from rural
areas, so to them it was a day to feast and not a day to celebrate
independence,' he said.

The group noticed other police officers were
reluctant to chase them away and seemed happy to try and negotiate and
diffuse the situation.

In Bulawayo the security forces have been
criticised for their severe crackdown on opposition activists, but some
policemen say they have arrested and sometimes tortured pro-democracy
activists against their personal convictions.

Press reports said the
officers maintained they were forced to carry out their superiors'
instructions out of fear.A police officer identified only as Zex is quoted
saying since the arrests and crackdown on the opposition started on 11
March, he has dealt with tough situations that have made him do things that
he would not personally and independently want to do.

'I have beaten
up and arrested some opposition activists in Harare, where I was transferred
to recently, but each time I have done this my heart has bled because I have
done it against my will,' he said.

'These are simply activists advocating
for change, which I also want to see take place, but because I am a police
officer and there is always somebody watching my moves and dishing out
commands, I am afraid I cannot resist. The consequences may be dire if I did
that, perhaps more than those of the activists I have beaten up or witnessed
being tortured,' Zex added.

EU adds more names to Zimbabwe banned list

Reuters

Wed 18 Apr 2007,
15:53 GMT

By Ingrid Melander

BRUSSELS, April 18 (Reuters) - The
European Union stepped up pressure on Zimbabwe on its independence day on
Wednesday, adding five names to a list of top officials banned from the bloc
and expressing strong concerns about rights abuses.

President Robert
Mugabe's government faced international criticism last month when it
launched a violent crackdown on the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).

A statement agreed by ambassadors of the EU member states
meeting in Brussels on Wednesday expressed "strong concern at the rapidly
deteriorating human rights, political and economic situation in
Zimbabwe".

"The Council condemns in particular the acts of violent
repression against the opposition and calls on all parties to refrain from
violence," said the statement, seen by Reuters and due to be rubber-stamped
by EU foreign ministers on Monday.

The EU added five deputy ministers
to its list of more than a 100 top Zimbabwean officials, including Mugabe,
who are forbidden to enter the EU and whose assets in the 27-nation bloc are
frozen.

They were added "in response to the acts of violence and abuses
of human rights" and following a government reshuffle, the EU statement
said.

The EU sanctions were initially triggered by a controversial
distribution of white-owned commercial farms to mainly landless blacks and
Mugabe's disputed re-election in 2002.

Zimbabwe marked 27 years of
independence on Wednesday, but for many the milestone was overshadowed by
the country's economic meltdown and a political crisis over Mugabe's plans
to remain in power.

The EU envoys stressed in their statement that the
sanctions were "exclusively aimed at those leading figures responsible for
Zimbabwe's crisis of governance and abuses of human rights" and that
humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe's population would continue.

Zimbabwe
has been a thorn in EU-African relations for years.

Plans for an
EU-Africa summit have been on hold since 2003 because Britain and several
other EU countries have refused to attend if Mugabe was invited, while
African states refused to attend if he was not invited.

Portugal hopes to
stage such a summit in the second half of this year but it is not clear how
it will get around the Zimbabwe issue.

BULWAYO, 18 April 2007 (IRIN) - Wednesday marks 27 years of
Zimbabwe's independence. Max Mkandla is a former freedom fighter and leader
of the Zimbabwe Liberators Peace Initiative, an organisation representing
the interests of liberation fighters, mainly in southern Zimbabwe. He served
as a Section Commander under the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army
(ZIPRA) during the country's protracted war against colonial rule. Mkandla
told IRIN he felt the government had betrayed the cause of the
struggle.

"The independence that the nation will observe this week is in
vain. Simply speaking, there is no independence to talk about because the
government has turned its sword on the same people that fought gallantly to
liberate this country.

"Opposition activists have been brutalised,
tortured and killed; and those who advocate for freedom and human rights are
in danger of this regime. I, for one, served as a commander under ZIPRA,
which was a military wing of the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU),
which was led by the late Joshua Nkomo.

"I sacrificed a lot to free
this country, but my heart bleeds today when I see oppression and brutal
torture of [opposition.]

"When I fought in the bush, indeed, all those
who stood up and contributed in different ways towards freeing this country,
we wanted our freedoms to be guaranteed; we wanted a right to vote,
regardless of who you are and, most importantly, we wanted to live as freely
as any other democratic and independent nation but, sadly ... our
aspirations [have been blighted].

"They have brutalised, tortured, killed
and maimed opponents and civilians since the Gukurahundi war, and they have
destroyed the economy, ushering in an unprecedented poverty never seen
before."

Gukurahundi, meaning 'the first rains of the season, which wash
away all the chaff' in the Shona language, was a brigade sent to the
southern provinces of Midlands and Matabeleland to curb dissent, two years
after Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980. It killed 20,000
people.

"There is no independence to talk about. Government and ZANU-PF,
and indeed President [Robert] Mugabe, should be ashamed of themselves."

The Mugabe Youth – trained for
terror

The First Post

Achain of government terror camps, in
which young men are indoctrinated with propaganda and trained in violence,
intimidation and torture, is being re-established in Zimbabwe in advance of next
year's election.

The camps are part of the so-called national youth service
training scheme set up in 2001. Graduates were formed into hit squads who
terrorised President Mugabe's opponents in the 2002 election campaign. Now
Mugabe associates, including Intelligence Minister Didymus Mutasa and Deputy
Minister of Youth, Saviour Kasukuwere, have been told to reinvigorate old camps
and establish new ones. A source said: "The strategy is to set up three camps in
each main city, and four more in rural areas known to be sympathetic to the
opposition MDC."

A camp has already been set up in Bulawayo's Mpopoma suburb.
Youths

‘We were told anyone who did not agree with the policies of
Mugabe deserved to die’

are recruited using threats and promises;
they are told they will not be accepted at colleges or employed in the public
sector without a certificate of attendance.

The government says it is educating
youths in the nation's history. Critics say it's the Hitler Youth all over
again. One camp instructor admitted: "They
will learn how to handle guns and how to effect physical and mental
torture."

Past experience indicates that squads from the camps will turn
parts of the country into no-go areas for supporters of the opposition MDC,
setting up road blocks and threatening, beating and turning away anyone who
cannot produce a Zanu-PF membership card. In town, they will
target grass-roots MDC activists, and use torture and violence to make them
abandon their constituencies. In January 2002 an Amnesty International

memorandum listed many incidences of violence by youth militia in
the previous year, including the murder of seven MDC members.

ONE BOY'S STORY

Orbert, 24, went through the camp system in
2001, emerging as leader of a militia unit used to terrorise MDC supporters.
This is his story.

"I joined up with hundreds of
other boys because I had no choice. It was go through what they called national service training or die unemployed. I
was sent to a camp in the south where Iwas held
captive for six months. It was very heavily guarded.

"Our day started at 2am with a long run, followed by endless
physical drills. If anyone fell out or collapsed they were
beaten with sticks and plastic rods.

"Classes were usually just hours of sloganeering and singing
Zanu-PF songs. The basic lesson we were

A camp has already been set up. Critics say it’s the
Hitler Youth all over again

taught was that anyone who did not agree
with the policies of Robert Mugabe deserved to die.

"There was a hostel for girls at the
camp, who were used as a reward for us if we did well. After a while the camp
commander, a man called Sibanda, gave me the go-ahead to take my pick. I was
allowed to go to the hostel at midnight, pick out any girl I liked and rape her.
Sibanda told me it was okay because it would make the girls stronger.

"Sometimes people who supported the
opposition were brought into the camp to be punished. I remember one man who was
pushed to the floor, had pepper sprinkled in his eyes and then we all took turns
to kick him. I left the camp before the presidential
election in 2002, and I was put in charge of a youth group in Harare. Our job
was to terrorise anyone who was hostile to Zanu-PF and President Mugabe."

Cabinet agrees to combine presidential & parliamentary elections

By
Tererai Karimakwenda18 April, 2007

The Herald newspaper reports that
the cabinet had approved proposals to harmonise presidential and
parliamentary elections in 2008. It said the Cabinet had met on Monday and
endorsed all proposals, except the issue of whether the Senate should be
chosen through proportional representation or through elections. Patrick
Chinamasa, the Minister for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is
quoted saying the issue of setting-up the Senate would be finalised by the
ruling party's Central Committee.

The cabinet agreed to limit the term of
office of a president to 5 years from 6. The number of seats in the Senate
will change from 66 to 84 and the seats in the House of the Assembly from
150 to 210. In the event that a sitting president dies, resigns or is not
able to continue with their duties, Parliament will sit as an electoral
college to elect a successor. The current law calls for a public election
within 90 days.

Critics have insisted that harmonisation is not a
practical idea because there is not enough time or resources to hold both
elections by 2008. David Chimhini, director of the Zimbabwe Civic Education
Trust, which has peace committees around the country, said last week that
the government cannot print identification cards and passports due to a lack
of funds. People without these documents would be deprived of the vote. And
there would need to be a new voters roll to account for the nearly one
million people who were displaced during the government's demolition
exercises. Chimhini also stressed that the government sponsored violence
against opposition officials and supporters has instilled fear in the
electorate. Much peace building and voters education needs to be in place
before it would be possible to hold any elections. Are Zimbabweans once
again going to be deprived of a chance of deciding their
future?

Chaos in Chitungwiza as police crush youth rally and arrest 5 leaders

By
Lance Guma18 April 2007

A planned rally by the Zimbabwe Youth
Movement (ZYM) in Chitungwiza received unwanted attention from the police
who sealed off Huruyadzo Shopping Centre and beat up everyone suspected of
involvement in the rally. Over 5 youth leaders were arrested, including the
president Collin Chibango, Vice president Sunduza Ndlovu, Information
Secretary Garikai Kajau, national organising secretary Hentchel Mavuma and
Wellington Mahohoma the treasurer. A spokesman for the group told us police
began beating up people at a nearby bar without provocation and everything
went out of control from there on.

According to ZINASU president Promise
Mkwananzi police details deployed were armed with AK-47 rifles, accompanied
by police dogs and indiscriminately fired teargas canisters at the shopping
centre. It was not immediately known which police station the youths have
been taken to. On Tuesday the police told the youths the rally would not be
sanctioned but the youths urged defiance saying confrontation was now the
only route left for Zimbabweans. ZYM groups together former student leaders
and youths from different political parties. The group says it wants to make
sure youths play a prominent role in the political process.

Meanwhile
in London over 300 activists took part in a demonstration condemning
Mugabe's crackdown on the opposition. According to Jaison Matewu the MDC UK
Organising Secretary, the protesters marched on the Zimbabwean Embassy and
the office of the British Prime Minister in Downing Street, before going to
the parliament building in Westminster. They presented a petition to Labour
MP Kate Hoey who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe. The
petition to the British asked them to put pressure on African leaders and
use their influence to solve the country's crisis. Matewu expressed
satisfaction with the attendance saying it was pretty good for a midweek
demonstration.

Sex work thrives as girls struggle to survive

BULAWAYO, 18
April 2007 (IRIN) - Dressed in a tiny white skirt and a top, Linda, 16, (not
her real name) struts into a nightclub in Madlambuzi, a sprawling rural
settlement in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South Province. Swinging to the
deafening music, she scans the room for potential customers.

She joins a
group of visibly drunk girls with pints of clear beer in their hands. Sex
work is a last resort of girls desperate to make a living in this
poverty-stricken village, or just to "get money to feed our families," Linda
told IRIN.

"I was deported as an illegal emigrant from Botswana in
December last year, where I used to work as a maid. I have no means of
getting money to feed myself and my little child. This is why I am here,"
she said.

"My parents died two years ago, and I am the one responsible to
fend for my two siblings and my only child. They look forward to me to bring
food home. There are no jobs here, [and] food is very expensive," she
added.

Desperate times

Gordon Chavhunduka, sociologist and
political commentator, said Zimbabwe's "social fabric is fast collapsing,
just the way the economy is. It's sad that people, especially the vulnerable
ones - let alone young girls - would do terrible things just to survive in
this economy. It's a sad story."

Linda has many difficulties to contend
with besides soaring food prices and the rocketing inflation that has sent
the economy into a tailspin, but worst, she feels, is facing criticism from
her neighbours and relatives for selling her body.

According to
village elders, sex work has been spreading rapidly in rural Matabeleland,
especially where there are drinking spots or nightclubs.

"These girls are
a disgrace. We know survival is not easy, especially considering that
commodities are expensive in shops and the there are no jobs, both here
[countryside] and in towns, but selling their bodies is wrong," said
Methuseli Dumani, a village elder.

"We have tried talking to some of them
to abandon their evil deeds but they would not listen. Each time the sun
sets, you see them trickling in [the club] and start soliciting. We don't
know how they can be stopped, at least for the preservation of our culture,
which disapproves of prostitution," he added.

Linda and her
colleagues know they are seen as immoral people, but say they have no
choice. "I know what I am doing is wrong - it is even forbidden in the Bible
- but there is no other means through which I can make a living. If I don't
go out and sell out my body, then my family will starve. Relatives and
neighbours say I am a disgrace, but when I go to them and ask for maizemeal
or money to help the family, they just look aside; yet they love to be
critical."

After a while, Linda gets a "customer", a bald-headed man old
enough to be her father, and disappears with him.

'Anita', another
sex worker, said the poverty ravaging Matabeleland often forced girls as
young as 13 to sell their bodies.

"Save for those who have breadwinners
in South Africa and Botswana, many families here have no one looking after
them at all. Many of us dropped out of school because our parents could not
afford the school fees," she said.

Despite the dangers

Anita is
adamant that she understands the dangers of sex work. "Everyone knows there
is AIDS; it has actually killed a lot of people here, and some are even ill
right now. I am personally afraid of the disease and I always insist on the
use of condoms," she said.

"For an all-night session, I charge something
like Z$200,000 [US$8 at the informal market rate], and half that amount for
a short-time session, which normally lasts for only two hours," Anita
explained. "Our customers are normally truck drivers who deliver beer from
Bulawayo, and those who go or come from Botswana to deliver or collect some
goods."

An official of the Matabeleland AIDS Council said a recent survey
in southern Zimbabwe had revealed that rural Matabeleland was worst affected
by the AIDS pandemic, mainly because of its proximity to South Africa and
Botswana. According to 2005 UN estimates, HIV prevalence among people aged
15-49 was 18.8 percent in South Africa and 24.1 percent in Botswana, with
Zimbabwe estimated at 20.1 percent.

"Many people in this province
work in Botswana and South Africa. Often it's a single partner of the
family, say a husband or a wife, and because they stay away from their
partner for long, they end up engaging in extramarital relationships, which
have the potential of spreading the virus," the official told
IRIN.

"Prostitution is another cause [of spreading HIV infection], and it
is sad that we are seeing it rearing its head in rural areas," he said. "It
just shows how desperate people are."

Living
in Mugabe's Zimbabwe

BBC

18 April 2007, 11:03 GMT 12:03 UK

Zimbabwean Herbert is 27 years old - born in 1980
when his nation became independent. Talking to the BBC News website by
telephone, he reflected on the ups and downs of living under President
Robert Mugabe. "I am not excited about the independence anniversary
celebrations.

Why should I be?

I have nothing to
celebrate.

I am buying bread at 6,000 Zimbabwean dollars ($0.34 at
current black market exchange rate) for a loaf and two litres of cooking oil
for 120,000 Zimbabwean dollars ($6.70).

I was only taking
500,000 Zimbabwean dollars ($28) home a month. But even that is no more. As
of yesterday, I was laid off from my clerical job.

And now, because
this is Zimbabwe, I know that I am not going to get another
job.

I live in a rented flat with my wife and family and so I am
still thinking of what I can do to carry on living and paying the rent.
Maybe I will sell some of my furniture.

The whole Zimbabwe
situation is not pleasing at the moment. Not at all. Everything costs so
much, most have so little and everywhere there are secret police. We are not
free anymore.

I was born in Mutare [eastern city on border with
neighbouring Mozambique] but moved to Harare a few years back to find work
after my parents passed away.

I remember how beautiful our
country was in the 80s.

Finding gold

My gran used to
give me 50 Zimbabwean cents to go buy bread, butter and milk - all that for
so little! It was easy to live well.

And when we were at junior
school, five cents in your pocket could get you sweets to last the whole
week. I tell you, finding a five cent piece on the pavement was like finding
gold!

Now if you see a 1,000 Zimbabwean dollar note on the floor,
you just keep walking. You don't stop. It is nothing - no-one will even pick
it up.

Back then, after independence, we all loved President
Mugabe. But now we don't. The only ones that do are those who benefit from
his rule.

I don't mind if Zanu-PF stays as the ruling party, I
really don't. I just want there to be change at the top.

Mugabe
is already a hero and he always will be but there is nothing more for him to
do. He must just step down.

When he was prime minister everything
was fine.

But when his first wife, Sally, died, he started going
the other way. That women loved our country - she did so much for
us.

Zim 'needs new road map'

IOL

April 18 2007 at
11:21AM

Zimbabwe's 27th anniversary of independence on Wednesday
should be marked with a plan clearly setting out successive steps to restore
democracy and good governance to that country, the Democratic Alliance
said.

"The 27th anniversary of Zimbabwean independence today is the
most dismal in that country's history," DA spokesperson Douglas Gibson said
in a statement.

President Robert Mugabe had turned one of the
"jewels of Africa", to use former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere's
description, into a disaster area.

Life continued, becoming
worse for Zimbabweans instead of better, and Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party
should accept full responsibility for what they had done, Gibson
said.

"This anniversary day may act as an impetus,
spurring the African Union and SADC (Southern African Development Community)
to start taking steps which will result in real change.

"Surely
Africa in general, and South Africa in particular, can no longer sit
patiently, hoping for something to turn up."

The average Zimbabwean
already faced 80 percent unemployment, shortages of wheat, sugar and petrol,
massive HIV/Aids infection rates, and a one in three high school drop out
rate.

The country would also soon have to contend with a wage
freeze, a fuel price hike, and inflation predicted to reach 5000 percent by
the end of 2007.

These were all signs of an impending disaster
for Zimbabwe that would affect the entire population and the region, he
said.

The word from the office of the South African Presidency was
that there was "some movement" in President Thabo Mbeki's mediation with
Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic
Change).

"We have heard all of this before, and the situation
continues to worsen.

"Therefore, we call on President Mbeki to
announce what has been achieved and what has failed in the mediation, and to
finally admit that the last seven years of quiet diplomacy have in fact
failed."

A new approach was necessary or else ordinary, vulnerable
Zimbabweans would be the ones that suffered.

"The time has
arrived for a new road map for Zimbabwe, which clearly marks out successive
steps aimed at restoring democracy and good governance to that benighted
country," Gibson said. - Sapa

Zim: 'We can't do magic'

South Africa cannot perform magic to solve the problems in
Zimbabwe, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on
Wednesday.

Asked if Zimbabweans have reason to celebrate on their
Independence Day, Dlamini-Zuma said the day was a time for
reflection.

"When you celebrate your independence you look at your
past but also look at your present and your future. I'm sure they'll do
that," she said.

She hoped the work that President Thabo Mbeki was
doing as a facilitator appointed by the Southern African Development
Community would have positive results but said it would take time and the
outcome was up to the Zimbabweans.

"South
Africa can't do any magic," said Dlamini-Zuma.

She said there also
had to be a link with the Zimbabweans themselves and their will to
accelerate the resolutions of the economic and political problems. -
Sapa

Gukurahundi Reconciliation
Urged

New bill aims to address emotional scars of mass killings, but some say
it doesn't go far enough.

By Fiso Dingaan in Lupane, Matabeleland (AR
No. 109, 18-Apr-07)

Fighting hard to hold back tears, 52-year-old Ernest
Ngwenya points to three mounds of soil crudely marked with stones and burnt
logs at a clearing two kilometres from his homestead.

The contorted
face tells of the emotional turmoil Ngwenya is battling to control. When he
eventually manages to speak, his voice is full of pain and grief.

"I
have waited 24 years for this day to grieve openly with my relatives and to
show them where I buried our father, brother and uncle who were killed
during Gukurahundi," he said.

"All along, I was afraid that if I
talked about something like this, more of my relatives would be beaten or
killed - just like what happened during Gukurahundi."

The
government's bloody suppression of opposition in southern Zimbabwe after
independence in 1980 is known as the Gukurahundi, or "the rains that sweep
away the chaff".

The North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade killed an
estimated 20,000 people, ostensibly for being dissidents. Many were buried
in unmarked graves or thrown down disused mines. But survivors say the
killings were systematic and targeted at Zapu office bearers and community
leaders such as teachers, nurses and headmen.

Zimbabwean president
Robert Mugabe has not publicly apologised for the massacres except to say
the atrocities were "a moment of madness".

More than two decades later,
life is back to normal in Matabeleland and the Midlands. But the relative
calm is deceptive.

Ngwenya was able to overcome his fear thanks to help
from the local legislator and members of a social justice pressure group
called Ibhetshu Likazulu. Lupane member of parliament, Jabuliso Mguni, also
counselled Ngwenya and his extended family, saying that it would do them
good to talk about their experiences.

Ngwenya says he needed
assurances that nothing would happen to him if he spoke out.

Movement
for Democratic Change legislator and lawyer David Coltart believes Zimbabwe
is still in a state of denial regarding Gukurahundi. Coltart was part of a
team of researchers that compiled a report, called Breaking the Silence, on
the atrocities over ten years ago.

"I do not think that even many
sympathetic democrats who oppose the Zanu-PF regime have a clear idea of the
scale of this crime against humanity - nor the extent of the psychological
damage done to the affected communities," he said.

Indeed, most
survivors are still seething with anger and grief. Elda Mlalazi is a mother
of two and gets highly emotional when she recounts what she endured during
Gukurahundi. She shows this reporter knife wounds that she says were
inflicted by a neighbour on instructions from the soldiers.

"The scars
are a constant reminder, especially when my in-laws, who don't know how I
got them, start saying I was a prostitute before I got married. They laugh
and say the scars were punishment from jilted boyfriends. There is nothing I
can say to them but I know the truth," she said.

Ibhetshu Likazulu
chairperson, Qhubekani Dube, says his organisation is trying - albeit on a
very small scale - "to bring peace and closure among people who are still
grieving and hurting inside. We realise that if people don't bring the issue
out into the open, tribal enmity will continue," argued Dube.

The
pressure group, formed in 2005, helps families identify where their
relatives are buried and helps to organise burial rituals. During the
ceremonies, villagers are encouraged to share their experiences and concerns
over the massacres. Listening to some of the mainly Ndebele villagers
recounting their experiences during a grave identification ceremony for
Ngwenya's father, Mfungelwa, his brother, Aleck, and an uncle, Kaise Moyo,
one is struck by the frequent reference to how "Shona-speaking soldiers"
committed the atrocities.

Dube says the organisation fears that if
such thoughts are left unaddressed, tribal hatred between Ndebeles and Shona
will be perpetuated. He says that Ibhetshu Likazulu is trying to explain to
survivors and families of victims that they should direct their anger at
Mugabe "because it was him who issued the order to kill".

Mguni
believes there is a desperate need to assuage the pain and grief of
Gukurahundi. He worries that life has been at what he calls a "cultural
standstill" for affected families. This, he explains, is because families
have not buried their relatives according to custom and consequently they
cannot communicate with their deceased as tradition demands.

"We have
ways of burying our own. We have not done that. People were not given a
chance to grieve. We are hurting inside. We have wounds festering within
that need to be treated and healed by openly talking about how and why our
relatives were killed. Keeping quiet will not do us any good," he
said.

Additionally, Mguni says people's experiences of Gukurahundi
must be recorded for posterity.

Another Matabeleland North
legislator, Professor Jonathan Moyo, has drafted the Gukurahundi National
Memorial Bill. Moyo is an independent member of parliament for Tsholotsho.
His constituency was the first area where the Fifth Brigade was deployed in
January 1983.

He says he will soon publish and distribute the proposed
legislation for public input before tabling it in parliament.

Moyo, a
former minister of information and publicity in Mugabe's cabinet, reckons
the bill would garner enough support to allow it to be enacted because its
objective of "putting in place a mechanism to deal with unresolved issues,
healing the open wounds and invisible scars by seeking truth and justice",
is noble.

Coltart, however, says legislation alone will not suffice. He
accepts the proposed bill "may be a useful vehicle to ascertain the views
and needs of victims" but adds, "The bill itself will not heal wounds - the
wounds of this atrocity will require a deep-rooted commitment by government
and the entire nation to understand what happened, to apologise for what
happened, and to take far-reaching steps to reconcile..the ongoing suffering
caused."

The legislator's views resonate with those of survivors such as
Ngwenya and his cousin Mlalazi. Ngwenya says now that he has dealt with the
emotional side of Gukurahundi, he can start facing up to the realities of
getting national identity papers for his nephews and nieces. And, one day,
he hopes that the government will compensate him and his neighbours for
property destroyed during the massacres.

Even then Gukurahundi will
remain a part of his life. "I won't forget. I cannot forget. How do you
forget something like that? But at least now I can be at peace with myself,
I know where my father is buried," he said.

SWRA - Multiple frequencies

From SW Radio Africa, 18 April

Multiple frequencies

SW
Radio Africa today resumes broadcasting on multiple frequencies. Broadcasts
are between 7:00 and 9:00 pm Zimbabwe time on shortwave; in the 25m band
11775kHz, 11810kHz, 12035kHz, and in the 60m band 4880kHz. Also via the
internet at www.swradioafrica.com
.

Nothing free and fair about
it

Comment from The Star (SA), 18 April

Mugabe's strategy is a crude attempt to cripple the opposition so
it will be unable to mount a coherent election challenge

Allister
Sparks

If President Mbeki is to perform his role as SADC mediator in
the Zimbabwe crisis with any chance of success, then he must intervene
immediately to stop Robert Mugabe's vicious campaign of physical assaults
aimed at crushing the political opposition in Zimbabwe. Mbeki's role is to
initiate dialogue between Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF and the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), leading to free and fair elections
next March. Well, the election is less than 11 months away, which means it
should already be in the campaigning stage. Competing parties should be
registering voters, naming candidates and holding election rallies. But the
MDC can do none of that. Political meetings are banned, some 600 prominent
opposition figures, including its top leaders, have been arrested on trumped
up charges and badly beaten. At least three have died and dozens have been
seriously injured. It is an appalling situation.

Mugabe's
strategy is obvious. It is a crude attempt to cripple the opposition, to
shatter its organisational structure, brutalise its leadership and so
intimidate its followers that it will be unable to mount a coherent election
challenge. Then in the last few weeks, when foreign observer teams start
arriving, Mugabe can put on a show of openness to enable them to proclaim
the election "free and fair". Mbeki should act now to stop this travesty. He
should tell Mugabe that unless he stops this brutal campaign right now, SADC
will have no option but to pronounce the elections as having not been free
and fair. And he should spell out the implications of that to Mugabe . that
SADC would then not be able to validate his re-election or recognise his new
government. It would be an illegitimate regime.

Mbeki's defenders
often challenge those who accuse him of being craven in the face of Mubage's
human rights violations and economic devastation, asking what they expect
the president to do. "Do you want him to send in the army?" they ask,
knowing the absurdity of such a suggestion. Or impose sanctions, which would
cause even greater misery for the suffering population while the ruling
elite would still have access to what resources remain? Or close the border
and cut off electricity supplies, which would have much the same result? Or
publicly condemn Mugabe, what Mbeki himself calls megaphone diplomacy, which
would simply make the old tyrant more stubborn and vindictive than ever
without achieving anything? There is merit in these rejoinders, although I
believe a measured public expression of disapproval would have undermined
Mugabe's strategy, which has been remarkably successful, of deluding his
followers into believing he is waging an honourable struggle against an
iniquitous campaign by Western powers, led by George Bush and Tony Blair, to
punish him for giving white farms to landless blacks, and that all of Africa
is behind him.

Simply to have exposed that lie would have gone a long
way to undermining Mugabe's political staying power. But my real point is
that there is now an active, positive, effective thing Mbeki can do, and
that is simply to give Mugabe a warning that a continuation of his campaign
of brutalising the opposition will lead to SADC declaring the election
invalid. It does not have to be uttered loudly, or even publicly. It can be
done in the context of "quiet diplomacy." It can be conveyed to Mugabe in
private . so long as Mbeki says it in a way that Mugabe understands it is
meant. What is more, Mbeki can do this without acting in his capacity as
president of South Africa. He need not expose himself to an accusation that
he is acting on behalf of the West or of white South African business, a
retaliation that would be typical of Mugabe. Mbeki can do it on behalf of
the SADC, which has mandated him to act on behalf of all 14 of the member
states. Moreover the SADC has its own clear criteria for the holding of free
and fair elections, and Mugabe must be told to abide by them or face the
consequences. And he must be told that now.

I believe that could
stop him in his tracks. There can be nothing Mugabe fears more than being
disavowed by his SADC colleagues. Being a cunning and resourceful man, he
would doubtless try to wriggle out of such a corner, but if the warnings
kept coming and if he knew they were seriously intended he would have to
respond. He could not risk having the election invalidated. Not least, and
political considerations aside, such a serious warning would put an end to a
lot of gratuitous human suffering. A lot of good, honest people have already
been grievously damaged in these batterings. I know some of them. One is
William Bango with whom I worked at the Institute for the Advancement of
Journalism in Johannesburg, where he was head of print training for several
years. Many of our leading South African journalists will remember him as a
lively, witty, talented man. Willie is typical of many who are trying to
bring about change in their devastated country and who are certainly not
agents of some nefarious foreign power.

Willie joined Zanla, Mugabe's
guerrilla army, as a youth and fought in the chimurenga, the liberation
struggle. He was wounded and the movement sent him abroad to further his
education. He obtained a masters degree at Cardiff University's renowned
Thompson School of Journalism. Willie left the IAJ to return to Zimbabwe and
become news editor of the Daily News. When Mugabe closed that excellent
independent paper and his military thugs blew up its presses, Willie joined
the MDC and became the spokesperson for its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. I
visited Willie at his home the last time I was in Harare. "I am a
millionaire," he told me laconically, "but I am poor." He spelled out some
of the realities of life in a country whose currency has collapsed to Weimar
Republic levels. His wife had received a call from an insurance company to
tell her an annuity policy had matured. The payout was enough to buy a
bottle of Coca-Cola.

Willie was with Tsvangirai on that watershed
Sunday, March 11, when police arrested them on their way to a prayer rally.
He was with him when uniformed thugs arrived in a truck and began
systematically beating them up with boots and iron bars, when Tsvangirai
suffered a fractured skull and Willie himself serious internal injuries. The
world was shocked to see pictures of the bedraggled opposition leader with
his ugly head injury. Now the photographer who took those pictures has been
murdered. Willie was flown to South Africa for medical treatment. He
collapsed on arrival at the hospital. He underwent emergency surgery to
remove his gall bladder and repair other ruptured internal organs. He was
lucky to survive. Willie is back home now. I phoned him last week to ask how
he was. He said he was OK, but had lost 20kg, which is a lot for a small
man. I asked if he was ready now to pitch into an election campaign. There
was a hollow laugh in reply.

Peter Moyo, producer on Third Degree, recently
spent two weeks in Zimbabwe investigating the story. He was arrested and
later abducted by Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence operatives who dubbed him
a national security threat.

In the midst of Zimbabwe's political and
economic turmoil, diamonds were recently discovered in the country. This
discovery has provided an opportunity for those struggling to cope with high
unemployment and a crippled economy to make a quick fortune. But it is
mainly corrupt officials who are illegally profiting from plundering this
precious natural recourse.

The World Diamond Council wants Zimbabwe
investigated for flouting the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
governing trade in these gems. In response, the Zimbabwean government is
accusing its critics of having hidden agendas, even though it is unable to
account for diamonds to the tune of US$400m.

Moyo and Third Degree's
Debora Patta trace this unlawful trade back to South Africa and reveal how
Moyo managed to escape Mugabe's media crackdown to bring e.tv viewers the
full story.

Between an
ostrich and a flamingo

Comment from The Mail & Guardian (SA), 12 April

Adam Kahane

Fifteen years ago, the
Mail & Guardian carried a 16-page supplement reporting an unprecedented
meeting in South Africa - an experience that might provide some lessons for
Zimbabwe. The Mont Fleur Scenario Exercise, an experiment in
"future-forging", brought together 25 South Africans over four intense,
informal weekends at the Mont Fleur Conference Centre near Cape Town. They
talked through what was happening in South Africa, what might happen, and
what, in the light of these possible futures, could be done. These days, I
read the news from Zimbabwe with alarm and confusion. I observe a downward
spiral of fear, mistrust and violence. I notice a narrow focus on the
current crisis and its personalities, and widely differing perspectives on
what has gone wrong. I wonder if Zimbabweans can jointly agree on what
should be done about it. Then I think back to that meeting in Cape
Town.

The process at Mont Fleur, which I facilitated, brought
together a broad mix of South Africa's political, business and civil society
leaders. They came from the left and right, the opposition and the
government - among them Dorothy Boesak, Rob Davies, Derek Keys, Pieter le
Roux, Johann Liebenberg, Saki Macozoma, Mosebyane Malatsi, Trevor Manuel,
Vincent Maphai, Tito Mboweni, Jayendra Naidoo, Brian O'Connell, Viviene
Taylor, Sue van der Merwe and Christo Wiese. Leaders who, in different ways,
have shaped how the future of South Africa actually unfolded. All were
committed in their own ways to building a better future for their country.
From starkly different perspectives, they built a shared map of South
African reality. Their M&G report, published in July 1992, summarised
these discussions in the form of four stories. Each scenario imagined how
events might unfold over the coming decade from 1992 to
2002.

Ostrich told the story of a non-representative white
government, sticking its head in the sand to try (ultimately in vain) to
avoid a negotiated settlement with the black majority. Lame Duck anticipated
a prolonged transition under a weak government which, because it purports to
respond to all, satisfies none. In Icarus, a constitutionally unconstrained
black government comes to power on a wave of popular support and noble
intentions and embarks on a huge, and unsustainable public spending
programme, which crashes the economy. In Flight of the Flamingos, the
transition is successful, with everyone in the society rising slowly and
together. These stories may not be relevant to either South Africa or
Zimbabwe in 2007, but they reflected key choices facing South Africa in
1992, with particular emphasis on the nature of the political settlement and
the economic policies that would follow.

Of the four scenarios,
the path of South Africa since 1992 has been closest - although certainly
not identical - to Flight of the Flamingos. By rehearsing a variety of
possible futures, in the minds of the participants and of M&G readers, I
believe the Mont Fleur process made some contribution to this
much-better-than-it-might-otherwise-have-turned-out result. The more
significant lesson, however, is not in the scenario stories themselves. The
process itself is typical of one of the most important innovations of South
Africa's transition: the multi-stakeholder dialogue forum. From 1990
onwards, South Africans created - in parallel with the formal negotiating
structures - hundreds of such informal forums. These dealt with a variety of
challenges - local development, health, education, security and
constitutional reform. Some adopted the scenarios method. More importantly,
all created a safe and open space in which the primary political, business
and civil society actors could come together to chart a way
forward.

The key concept here is "we", an assumption of shared
interests and identity which, at first, was often denied. The forums
encouraged South Africans' sense of being engaged in a shared national
project. The old was not yet dead and the new had not yet been born, and in
this interregnum the forums provided a space for the people with a stake in
the future to create it together. The sense of "we" - of incremental trust -
was a foundation for the larger political settlement in 1994 and the
transformation which followed. "There was a high degree of flux at that
time," Trevor Manuel recalled later. "That was a real strength. There was no
paradigm, there was no precedent and there was nothing. We had to carve it
and so perhaps we were more willing to listen." Since Mont Fleur, I have had
the experience of facilitating similar future-carving processes in other
conflicts. In Colombia during the civil war, in Guatemala after the
genocide, in Argentina during the collapse, in Northern Ireland, Cyprus,
Israel-Palestine, India and the Philippines, and in my homeland of Canada,
with its own hidden deep differences.

Sometimes these processes
work and sometimes they don't; as Immanuel Kant said: "Out of the crooked
timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made." When they are, it is
always because there are a few people who are willing to take a stand - not
for a particular interest, but for a process which is open-minded and
open-hearted - for carving a better future. I do not understand what is
going on in Zimbabwe well enough to know if these experiences are relevant
there. Do Zimbabweans have a sense of a common future, of a "we"? Do the
primary actors from politics, business and civil society know that they need
each other? Or that they need even their opponents to create a better
future? Are there leaders able to design a safe, open space in which these
actors can talk and listen? What I do understand - and with certainty - is
what happens if the answers to these questions are "no". Because the only
alternative then is that some or all of these actors will attempt to impose
a future through force.

Adam Kahane is the author of Solving Tough
Problems. He lives with his family in Boston and Cape Town

Kembo Mohadi made fool of himself

New Zimbabwe

By Mary Revesai
Last updated: 04/18/2007 15:15:59
THE brutish performance of Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister, Kembo Mohadi,
during an interview with SW Radio Africa's Violet Gonda last week (read) shows that Zimbabwe has
degenerated from being a one-party into a one-man state!

Everyone in government, it seems, has to parrot what
is dictated by Robert Mugabe.

Mohadi's menacing and unreasonable responses when he
was asked about the battering of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and others
about three weeks ago proved, if any proof was still needed, that it is not only
the media and the rest of society that are being denied freedom of thought and
expression.

Mohadi's aggressive and diabolical utterances showed
that even Cabinetministers are not free to speak their minds. They must at
all times be theirmaster's voice and either repeat his paranoid mantras or
express ridiculous views so as to ingratiate themselves to the Dear
Leader.

Zimbabweans from all walks of life must have cringed
in embarrassment and incredulity at Mohadi's on-air conduct. He made a fool of
himself by persistently denying that opposition leaders and activists were
battered by security agents last month despite the fact that images of their
swollen faces and battered bodies have been seen on television screens and
newspaper front pages all over the world, including Zimbabwe. Despite this,
Mohadi repeatedly and rudely interrupted Gonda to dismiss her questions and
challenge her to "come to Zimbabwe now" to see for herself that nothing of the
sort had happened.

This display of false bravado was particularly
jarring because it also exposed the rampancy of a culture of impunity and
ignorance among government officials on how they should deal with the press. In
most countries, even in the developing world, government officials acknowledge
the right of the press in discharging its role as watchdog for the public
interest, to ask questions. The least ministers can do, even if they are
unwilling to divulge any information is to deal with journalists in a civil
manner. Mohadi could have evaded Gonda's questions in a more circumspect manner
without giving way to bombast and vehemence as he did. It is worrying to realise
that this is the calibre of ministers Mugabe has flooded his bloated cabinet
with.

Mohadi's raging-bull antics in his bid to deny
something that the whole world knows to have happened was the more puzzling
considering that Mugabe himself has made no attempt to deny that state agents
tortured Tsvangirai and the others.

On his return from the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC)extraordinary summit in Dar es Salaam, Mugabe boasted about
having silenced his peers by telling them that the police had indeed battered
opposition activists. Could it be that after his regime's brutality had been
roundly condemned, including apparently, by SADC itself, Mugabe now needs some
attack dogs to eat his words for him?

More importantly, is it a coincidence that Mohadi and
another figure fromMatabeleland, Information and Publicity Minister
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu appear to have been chosen to disgrace themselves on behalf of
the regime? It is noteworthy that Ndlovu, who was known to be critical of the
belligerent style of Jonathan Moyo when he served as chief government
propagandist, has nevertheless now embraced all the professor's tactics. What is
going on there? Should the nation get ready to hear Ndlovu and Mohadi vigorously
asserting that the Matabeleland massacres perpetrated by the Fifth Brigade never
happened too?

Mugabe's paranoia, which is characterised by denial,
self-aggrandisement and an obsession for blaming and impugning everyone's
motives, is well known. Kembo Mohadi's conduct gives the public an idea of the
kind of pressure those associated with the regime are under to echo the old
man's mantras regardless of how ridiculous and outlsndish they may be. What is
frightening when top government ministers shamelessly deny self-evident and
objective realities, is the thought of what other horrors they are required to
conceal.

Mohadi's antics are particularly disturbing because
they show to what extent Mugabe has emasculated even those in his government.
Mohadi presides over a ministerial portfolio that is supposed to ensure the
protection, safety and security of all Zimbabweans. He is employed in that
capacity at taxpayers' expense to oversee the operations of the police force.
His aggressive and dismissive attitude when asked by the press about issues of
legitimate public concern gives an indication of how much the regime has to
hide. Mohadi now apparently believes that the truth can be altered by
decree.

Mohadi adopted his menacing demeanour during the
interview to avoid being asked about the real perpetrators of the recent spate
of bombings of police stations. He cannot be unaware of the widespread
scepticism among Zimbabwean about the over-dramatised attempts by the government
to implicate the MDC in these stage-managed incidents.

If the government has nothing to hide, Mohadi would
have taken advantage of the SW Radio interview to clear the air on recent abuses
the police have been accused of, including the arrest and abduction of
journalists. By resorting to hyperbole, he failed to allay widespread fears
among the population that Zimbabwe is now a full-fledged police state where no
one is safe.

As it turned out, his aggressive conduct confirmed
the public perception that police brutality has become the rule rather than the
exception under hisstewardship.

Mary Revesai is a New Zimbabwe.com columnist and
writes from Harare. Her column will appear here every Tuesday